Carly Miller is not yet in college, but she reluctantly joined a sorority on March 28. Two days later, her Marriotts Ridge teammate, Casey Summerson, also joined.
It wasn't her choice, either.
Their sorority is a group of Howard County high school girls lacrosse players who have sustained ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries over the past year, and its ranks are growing.
A tear of the ACL, one of the major supports of the knee, has become the bane of girls athletics and often strikes an athlete mid-stride. In the blink of an eye, players find themselves going from cleats to crutches.
"A lot of kids play 24/7 and 365 (days a year) and it doesn't happen to them. Then there are those who take breaks (between sports) and they still get hurt," said Marriotts Ridge girls lacrosse coach Amanda Brady, supporting the idea that there's no one formula that causes these injuries.
Marriotts Ridge is in the rare position of having three different players in the same season sustain an ACL injury. Mustangs' freshman Sydney Bender sustained her injury in the fall playing with her club team.
Elsewhere, Glenelg's Megan Taylor and River Hill's Emily Hamburger have also been battling back from ACL tears sustained in the fall.
The source
There are four major ligaments in the knee; they attach the femur bone to the tibia. The medial and lateral collateral ligaments are on each side of the knee. The anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments cross in the middle of the knee. These two ligaments are the primary stabilizers of the knee joint.
There is no definitive answer as to what causes an ACL injury, which is more common among females than males. Speculation includes genetics, hip-to-knee angle, hormones, a misstep, overuse, lack of strong leg muscles and just plain bad luck.
"Everyone talks about turf and wearing cleats," Miller said. "My doctor doesn't think there is enough evidence to think (there is a correlation), but it often happens."
Miller has always worn turf shoes on turf — until this year when she started wearing cleats.
"I keep kicking myself about that," she said.
Glenelg's Taylor and River Hill's Hamburger were both playing field hockey last fall, and on grass, when they were injured.
Taylor was in the striking circle and going for the ball when the goalkeeper came out to try to clear it.
"I jumped over her with my left leg but my right leg was still beneath her. That's when I heard the pop," said Taylor who is a goalkeeper in lacrosse.
It's common for athletes who tear their ACLs to say, "I heard a pop."
"I didn't want to think it was my ACL," Taylor said. "You always hear about it happening but you never think it will happen to you."
Miller also heard a pop when she was injured in March. She, too, hoped it wasn't an ACL.
She had to wait a few days to see a doctor. When her knee didn't swell up as much as she expected, she thought she might be in the clear.
Her MRI showed differently.
"I was blindsided by the news," she said. "It was hard to hear."
Marriotts Ridge's girls lacrosse team won the state championship last spring. Some of the team's top players graduated and Miller, a junior, knew that she was expected to step up and lead.
"I knew I had a big role to fill, and I was excited," she said.
That excitement turned into disappointment when she realized that she would not be back on the field this year.
Bender, the freshman, has yet to don a Marriotts Ridge uniform. If she were in college, she'd be considered a red-shirt.
She tore her ACL on Nov. 22 in a club lacrosse tournament in a non-contact injury.
"I went to turn around and my cleat caught. I heard a pop and went down," she said.
She had reconstructive surgery on Dec. 19 and is midway through her rehabilitation.
Bender expects to be running sometime in May, going full speed in June and hopes to be cleared to play in July. But she is not planning to rush her comeback.
She has spent this spring as manager for the Marriotts Ridge varsity and junior varsity teams, keeping her close to the game.
Support System
Taylor, already injured, was at the field hockey game when Hamburger got hurt.
"I knew of her, but I'd never hung with her," Taylor said.
Taylor reached out to Hamburger last fall and she reached out to Miller this spring.
"Her mother was my Cobra coach and she's the reason I became a goalie," Taylor said.
The two mothers and daughters met for lunch to talk about what an ACL injury is like.
"It's different for parents," Taylor said. "My mom was kind of in denial. 'Oh, it's just a bruise,' she would say. But having my mom to talk to probably helped [Carly's] mom, too."
"Megan told me all about her experience," Miller said. "My family doesn't know anything about knee injuries and it's good to be educated."
Taylor had been frank in talking about the ups, downs and plateaus of recovery.
"It's not a walk in the park; it's hard for a lot of people," she said. "But you are going to feel normal again. It's hard to realize that in the early stages."
While Hamburger is back playing, the other four have ancillary roles on their teams — part advisor and part cheerleader with statistician's duties thrown in as well.
On the sidelines, they get to see the game from a different angle and develop their lacrosse knowledge in a different way, with an overview of the whole game. But it's still difficult.
"It's tough because they want to be in the game as much as we want them in the game," Brady said.
Miller said she is "so ready" for the surgery. She's already talked to her future coaches at UMBC.
"They told me that I can come back stronger and that really helped. They told me to keep my head up," she said.
Taylor received similar encouragement when she broke the news of her injury to her future coach, University of Maryland's Cathy Reese.
"She was so encouraging. She rocks. She told me that I was going to come back even stronger," Taylor said.
The Glenelg senior has already noticed an obvious difference. Her crutches have made her arms a lot bigger.
"I will be able to throw the ball farther," she said.
Editor's note: Summerson had her surgery last week; Miller's surgery is scheduled for early May.